Divine Design
by LovelyJuice
Summary: Edward's new in town and Bella is his decorator. They grow close, but continue to deny their feelings because of their professional relationship. Will they finally realize what everyone else sees-that you can fight lust...or love, for long? Lemons soon!
1. Chapter 1

**Divine Design**

**Disclaimer: Pshhh, I wished I owned these guys. But alas... sigh.**

**Note: Just a short little chapter to gauge your guys' interest in the story. It's innocent now, but ohhohoho, you just wait. :) Check it out!  
**

"–_nother rainy day here in Seattle, folks. Grab your umbrellas and galoshes because it is a wet one out there. Now let's head over to Jeanie with traffic. Not looking good there is it?" _

I slammed my hand down on the alarm clock, effectively shutting off what I knew was going to be more bad news, and then yanked my arm back into the warmth of my covers when I registered the cold. I knew that getting up was inevitable, but here in the cozy perfection of my giant four-poster bed, I couldn't even fathom the day ahead.

After a brief internal debate over the merits of playing hooky, I rubbed my eyes and heaved a heavy sigh before throwing the covers off my body. I couldn't call in sick today. Angela had reminded me just yesterday that I was meeting this morning with a potential client, and a big one at that. So not only did I have to make an appearance, I had to bring my A-game.

I carried on with my morning routine, putting just a touch more effort into my appearance, hoping to make a good impression on the prospective client. As I clumsily brushed mascara over my lashes, I thought about the lengths we women go through to impress others. I rolled my eyes in annoyance, and then cursed as I got the newly applied mascara everywhere. _Where is Alice when you need her? _

Finally, at quarter to nine, hair tamed and heels in hand, I made my way out to my car, holding my purse over my head to fend off the drizzling rain. Save a death defying near tumble down my slick front steps, I arrived safely at my office right on the hour. I was lucky. Owning my own business had allowed me to pick a location that was both on a bustling main street but also close to my home.

I got out of the car and hurried up the front walk, smiling as I opened the door to see my assistant and one of my best friends, Angela Weber, sketching out a design at her desk.

"Hey Ang!" I said as I dumped my bag at my station and slipped on my heels. She smiled in greeting, before looking pointedly at the pumps and raising a brow.

"Oh don't start," I griped. "While I figured that I should probably make a good first impression with this hotshot client Alice referred to us, it didn't mean I had to go traipsing around the city on stilts! I couldn't put innocent people at risk, you know," I joked, referring to my notoriously clumsy nature.

"Well, I thank you on behalf of the city," Angela said with a grin. "But I was just meant that I haven't seen you in heels for a while. You sure pulled out all the stops," she joked, gesturing to my outfit. "Nice, Swan!"

I blushed at my friend's good-natured ribbing, glancing down at myself. While I knew Angela would never lie to me, I gave myself a more discerning appraisal. _I look pretty nice, if I do say so myself._ I was wearing a cream-colored cashmere sweater–a gift from Alice, natch–and my wide-legged caramel-hued slacks. My look was finished off with a pair of sensible yet attractive chocolate brown leather heels and my long dark hair set in loose curls down my back.

"I know, I know. But I figure, if Alice referred this guy to us, he must be some big fish, you know. I mean, I guess she's never actually met him," I said, "but the man _is_ Jasper Hale's cousin."

I knew I didn't have to remind Angela of all of this; she was the one who had set it all up in the first place. Our other best friend, Alice Brandon, had called Angela just last week to let her know that Jasper, Alice's fiancé and well-respected local artist, had a cousin that was moving back to the area. Normally, I wouldn't be so flustered over the cousin of a friend, but I knew that Jasper came from a prominent and _very_ wealthy family here in the northwest and I had it on good authority that this cousin of his was the pride of the illustrious family.

I tried to remember everything that Alice had told me about the guy. He was a lawyer, she had said, who had just finished a long stint as an associate at some big fancy law firm in New York City. Apparently-and I was impressed when Alice mentioned this-he had recently been made partner in the firm and transferred back home to head up their Seattle branch.

Jasper told us that his cousin had just purchased this ridiculously expensive apartment downtown and was planning on using a good chunk of his new bonus to pay an interior decorator the big bucks to trick it out.

_And_, I thought, as I opened up my date book to double-check the appointment time, _that is where we come in_. I guess Alice had urged Jasper to tell his cousin about Swan Interior Designs and_ boom!_ the man had agreed to a meeting. I realized, with a flutter of excitement, that if this meeting went well, this would be the biggest account I'd ever had the chance to work on.

I sighed with nerves and picked up his file, wanting to remind myself of the guy's name before he arrived within the minute. Just as the horrible thought popped into my head that for all I knew this guy was a pompous douche bag with too much money and an inflated ego, I the door swooshed open behind me.

I heard Angela chime out a greeting and I steeled my resolve, quickly reasoning that Jasper probably wouldn't curse me with a creepy cousin and that whoever was walking into my office was probably just some normal, run of the mill guy.

_Well, too late now_, I thought, as I glanced down and quickly read the name on the file. _Bring it on Edward Cullen. _

**Review and let me know if I should continue!**_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I mean, really? If I owned Twilight, I'd probably be out rolling around in hundred dollar bills, not writing smutty fanfiction. But here I am! **

**Chapter 2  
**

I heard Angela chime out a greeting and I steeled my resolve, quickly reasoning that Jasper probably wouldn't curse me with a creepy cousin and that whoever was walking into my office was probably just some normal, run of the mill guy.

_Well_, too late now, I thought, as I glanced down and quickly read the name on the file. _Bring it on Edward Cullen._

My fingers tightened instinctively on the file in my hands and my bated breath left me in a whoosh.

_Well, it looks like he brought it_, I thought stupidly.

The man walking through the door was quite possibly the most attractive man I'd ever seen. Like, don't look straight at him you'll burn your retinas, hot. I gave a mental eye roll at the ridiculous hyperbole my sex-starved brain had just thought up, and then collected my face into what I hoped looked like a welcoming smile.

It probably looked a bit more like a psychotic grimace.

I froze as the man, Edward, I reminded myself, strode purposefully toward me, a tight but kind smile on his lips. He held out his hand in greeting and I looked at it like it was a UFO, too stunned by his appearance and forward, professional attitude to do much but gawk. I was a fiercely casual person and his demeanor, mixed with his crisp, expensive suit, intimidated me just a bit–though I had to admit as I struggled to swallow a lump in my throat, I couldn't say it all didn't look _damn good_ on the man.

At the slight quirk of his eyebrow–_God, what isn't hot about this man?_–I shook myself out of my moronic stupor and raised my hand to grasp his enthusiastically, trying to portray a professional yet personable attitude. If this all worked out, I would be spending the next couple of weeks getting to know this man, _er, his style_, very well, and I didn't want to come off unapproachable.

"Hi, you must be Edward!" I said, but then cringed internally at the high register my voice squeaked out at. I saw Angela whip her head up from the corner of my eye, her lips clenched with silent laughter. I cleared my throat and continued. "I'm Bella Swan, and over there is my associate Angela Weber."

Having already greeted him at the door, she gave a jovial wave in response. When his back was turned to acknowledge Angela, I pursed my lips at her in fake anger and she smiled wider before turning back to her sketches.

"Bella," Edward began with a smile, and I nearly melted at the smooth sound of his voice, "it's so nice to meet you. You come very highly recommended."

I beamed at him, incredibly proud of the success of my little business, which had really thrived since I brought Angela on just a year prior. "Well," I said as I gestured him to have a seat at my desk, "Jasper and Alice are a little biased, but Jazz did seem to be a happy customer when I redid his house all those years ago." I finished off with a blush, always embarrassed when I had to rep my work.

"Yes, he mentioned that you decorated his home," Edward said. "But he never mentioned anyone still called him Jazz." He smirked evilly at the thought, obviously entertained by the somewhat effeminate nickname his cousin endured.

"Don't tell him I called him that," I pleaded jokingly. "Alice always calls him that and sometimes it sticks. He mentioned that he used to get teased when he was younger, for you know, the…" I trailed off but threw my hands into weak jazz hands for emphasis.

Edward threw his head back and laughed loudly. I smiled at his response, enjoying that he seemed to have relaxed a bit from his uber-professional persona.

"Yeah," he chuckled out, running his fingers through his hair as if to jog childhood memories, "we used to get him good. But it was all for fun. And Jasper always gave as good as he got."

I smiled at the images that conjured and I vowed to cajole Edward later into telling me all the dirt on my dear friend. I loved Jasper, but he always seemed so unflappable. Maybe in comparison to me, there was just no need to tease anyone else. All my friends were constantly joking about my chronic clumsiness and foot-in-mouth disease.

"Ok," I said, wanting to redirect the conversation toward the job at hand, despite the fun I was already having, "let's just dive right in, shall we?"

I opened up my notepad and clicked open my pen. "I'd love to hear more about your apartment and your personal style, and then if you want I can show you a bit of my portfolio and some ideas I may have for your place."

Edward relaxed into the chair in front of me and I had to consciously avert my eyes from his long muscular thighs pulling the fabric of his pants taught as he propped his ankle on the opposite knee.

"Well," he started, running his hand through his hair once more, as if to conjure an image of his new house, "the apartment is fantastic. It's in a building downtown, on the fifteenth floor…the penthouse. You'll see when you come to visit, but the view is fantastic."

I smiled inwardly at his words. Obviously he was already comfortable with the idea of hiring me for the job. And I couldn't be anymore on board. For various reasons.

"The rest of the pace is great," Edward continued, smiling at the thought. "It's really open and airy and has all of this great exposed beams and pipes on the ceiling and all of the original steel columns supporting the great room. The realtor mentioned it used to be a textile factory, so it has really cool industrial elements to it. I don't want to lose that entirely. Just make it a bit more livable."

He finished up with a self-conscious grin, as if realizing he had been gushing about his new home. I smiled in response, anxious to see the place for myself. It sounded fantastic. He was a decorator's dream. _Er. The house is a decorator's dream. The house_. I mentally chided myself for the slip.

"Well, just tell me a bit more about yourself and your style and I can get a better feel of where we're going here," I said, trying to maintain a professional air despite my deeply unprofessional musings.

"I'm sure Jasper told you, but I'm a lawyer for Volturi & Denali Associates. I've just started here in Seattle as partner, though I was born in raised in the area. I started with them in New York right out of law school and lived there for the last five years. I wouldn't have noticed all those years if I were living in a cardboard box, I was so busy working, but now that I have some more free time as partner, I really want to get comfortable in my home. So," he trailed off, "here I am."

I gave him an encouraging smile and he continued.

"I'm a pretty simple person. I don't like anything frilly or froofy, but don't want my home, you know, like, boring. Which is probably what it would be if I did it myself," he joked with a smile. I smiled back, but had to bite back a gasp at the effect his grin had on the butterflies in my stomach.

"What kind of colors do you like?" I prodded, already jotting down ideas on my pad.

Edward shrugged and then blushed. I giggled internally, knowing how hard it was to get some guys to embrace the interior designer in them. "Like do you want bold bright colors? Reds and–"

I cut off at the look on his face, which was one of mild horror. "No, nothing to garish please." Again with the fingers through the hair. "I don't know, something more muted, more…understated. Something like…" He trailed off and I leaned forward in my chair, trying to subtly encourage him to tell me what he liked.

"Something like…" I asked gently.

"Something like you," he finally got out, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck in discomfort while the other gestured vaguely at my person.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and my face flushed with embarrassment. I was almost about to stutter out a response but he hurriedly resumed.

"I just mean, that, ah–" Again, the gesture. "How you look–the colors, the textures. All that. It's just," he paused, "a really nice look."

Deciding to put him out of his misery, I quickly jotted down _ivory, dark brown leather, camel, Bella? _and cleared my throat before I stood.

"Well, thank you Edward," I said, hoping to imply my gratitude for more than just the meeting we'd had, "I think I've got a good picture of what you want…er, for your apartment. I'd really love the opportunity to work with you."

He smiled as he stood and reached out to grasp my hand once more. "No, thank you Bella. I have a feeling it will all turn out great. I'll just send you an email when I get done at the office today about when you can come by and see the place. Sound good?"

I followed him toward the door and managed to sneak a peek at his butt when he bent down quickly to retrieve the umbrella he'd left by the door.

"Um, yeah," I choked out. "Awesome."

**I really want to get out another chapter in the next couple of days, but no one's reviewing so I'm beginning to think that everyone who is reading this doens't want me to continue... did that work? Let me know what you think and if you have any nuggets of inspiration for a new writer! Ta!**


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